A Ninja in the Dark
by TheFanfictionFairyGodmother
Summary: Umbra is the most loyal and dedicated servant of Pitch Black. And her master wants revenge against the Guardians. But when Umbra begins to take a liking to Jack Frost, her loyalty to the Dark Side will be ultimately tested. Will she return to her master or betray the almighty Boogeyman? Eventual Jack x OC and rated T just cause I'm paranoid. Enjoy :)
1. Pitch's New Army

**A Ninja in the Dark**

_~Chapter One: Pitch's New Army_

Until the day she found an injured and beaten Pitch sprawled on the ground, Umbra had never experienced true horror. Her master, _the _Pitch Black, had been defeated by the Guardians. He had barely escaped with his life and, thanks to the Nightmares, arrived back at his own domain wounded, but still very much alive.

That day, Umbra was patrolling the black forests of the Dark Side and looking after Pitch's palace while the master was away fighting a war against the Guardians. She leapt limberly from one thorny tree branch to another, keeping alert of any movement in the forest. Her black cloak helped the wearer blend into the darkness of the world she lived in.

The ninja girl scrambled up one of the thickest trees and perched on a high branch, her violet eyes were used to the darkness as they scanned the landscape for intruders. Upon seeing nothing, Umbra relaxed a little and sat down on the branch for a quick break. She gazed up at the empty grey sky overhead and wandered when her master would come back and announce that he had succeeded in making children believe in him.

Pitch has been gone for some time, leaving his ninja to look after things on the Dark Side. Umbra took that task as the highest honor any servant of the Boogeyman could receive. It's not every day that the King of Nightmares entrusts his palace to someone.

And so, for the past three years, it had been Umbra that protected and watched over the Pitch's house. Although three years really isn't that long compared to how old the ninja was, but it was still a great duty to be put in charge of the master's home.

Umbra sighed, leaned against the trunk of her tree, and pulling out one of the long, slightly curved, silver combat knives she carried in sheaths attached to her knees. She could see her reflection in the polished blade; narrow eyes with expanded pupils to see in the dark, a silver veil covering the bottom half of her face, and the black hood of her cloak over her head.

The ninja took her position as Pitch's personal ninja very seriously. She always wore her uniform, acknowledged her master with a bow whenever she sees him, and stood by Pitch's side at all times, like a shadow. In fact, that was how she got her name, Umbra, meaning dark shadow. However, the Boogeyman had wanted to visit the Guardians alone, and that is why Umbra was unable to follow him.

_At this point,_ Umbra thought delightedly as she thought about how Pitch was doing in the human world,_ Master should have beaten those Guardians to pulp. He will be back soon, and we will celebrate this glorious achievement together. Oh, I do hope he brings me a souvenir – _

Suddenly, there was a loud crash in the distance. Umbra was so violently jerked out of her thoughts that she nearly fell out of her tree. She quickly righted herself and strained to see what had caused the noise in the first place.

Her first assumption was, "Intruders must be eliminated," but she restrained herself from going into savage-defense mode. Deciding to approach the situation calmly, Umbra took note of where the crash had come from and began quietly sneaking her way toward the area of investigation. She swiftly melted into the shadows and reappeared again a few feet away, glancing in all directions every other time she traveled by shadow for any sign of being tailed or ambushed. Slowly but steadily, Umbra reached an area of the forest where trees were bent at odd angles and thorns were snapped from their branches.

Upon first sight, the ninja spied a tall shaped struggling to get up from the black, wilting grass that covered the forest. She immediately recognized who it was.

"Master! You have come back to the Dark Side at last!" Instantly, Umbra abandoned her sneaky, stalker-like demeanor and rushed out of the shadows to aid Pitch Black. She sprinted with great speed and agility, like she weighed the same amount as a feather. Kneeling in the dead grass beside her master, the ninja gave a quick bow to him. "Master, I cannot tell you how longingly I have waited for your return. You needn't worry about a thing. I have taken care of everything here. I know you must be tired from winning the war, so please allow me to escort you back to the palace. Master?"

Umbra faltered when she noticed that Pitch didn't look pleased, "Master, have I done something wrong?" she asked, getting a chill up her spine. What is there not to be happy about? The only reasons Umbra could think of that could possibly make Pitch unhappy would be either she, Umbra, made a mistake, or that the war against the Guardians didn't go so well.

After taking a split second to consider her master's power and her own imperfectness, Umbra decided that the reason must be the former. "I offer my humblest apologies, my Lord," she began, bowing her head in shame. "Please tell me my errors. Even so, I can only be half as flawless as you, sir."

"No, it's not that," Pitch spat venomously. With great effort and some help from Umbra, he managed to sit up and catch his breath. "The Guardians, they were much more of challenge than I had anticipated. They… beat me."

Umbra's elegantly narrowed eyes widened in shock. She almost dropped Pitch whom she was supporting on her right side. She was so certain that her master would easily triumph over the Guardians that she never really considered what she would do if, for some reason, Pitch didn't win. Not ever had she wandered what she would do if her master didn't come back at all. And looking at the exhausted and worn out expression on Pitch's face, Umbra knew that she was very close to never seeing her master again.

Still, what could have possibly beaten the almighty Boogeyman? There is no way the Guardians could have merely overpowered him. No, Umbra's master was too strong to simply taken down by pure vigor. Hoping that it didn't sound offensive, the ninja hesitantly asked, "Master, what happened? Were you tricked? Did they have a sort of secret weapon at their disposal?"

"They _did_ have an obnoxious boy called Jack Frost," Pitch explained bitterly. He took a moment to right himself and winced when he felt pain from every inch of his body. After cursing under his breath, he continued, "I underestimated him, as well. They also had these meddling kids on their side who continued to believe. I was so close to winning, Umbra, one more nonbelieving child and I would have crushed the Guardians like cockroaches under my feet."

Knowing that stress wouldn't help her master's injuries, Umbra tried to cheer him up, "Master, you are the most powerful of all immortal beings. It took all _four_ of the Guardians _and_ Jack Frost to defeat you. I highly doubt that any of them have the power nor the backbone to take you one-on-one, my Lord. The only reason you lost was because it was an unequal fight."

Pitch didn't reply but appeared to be taking her words into consideration.

Allowing the Boogeyman a few moments of thoughtful silence, Umbra suggested, "Come, my Lord, you must have many wounds from your troubles with the Guardians. Let us go back to the palace. You need to rest and I will make a cup of blackthorn tea to calm your nerves."

"I don't think I have the strength to travel by shadow," Pitch stumbled along with his ninja as they retreated to the shade of the forest.

Umbra immediately saw a chance to impress her master. She had been practicing her teleporting skills while he was gone and was quite eager to show what she could do now. "Master, I shall transport both of us to the palace if you are unable to do it yourself."

Pitch looked uncertain, but he simply nodded his head as he was too weak to make a good argument.

As soon as they were in complete darkness, the ninja and her master melted into the shadows.

* * *

Back in Pitch's gloomy, dimly lit palace, Umbra found a soft, comfortable chair for him to sit in. After making sure that Pitch was completely at ease, the ninja skittered off to the kitchen to make a pot of tea for the weakened Boogeyman.

Umbra tasted the tea herself to make sure that it had the perfect amount of blackthorn flavor and nodded with satisfaction as she decided that it would do. For a ninja, her hands were rather steady as she poured the warm tea into a small cup and handed it to Pitch.

All was quiet for a long time while Pitch drank the tea and stared at the fireplace of black flames in front of him. Umbra stood by dignifiedly and allowed him to drink the beverage in peace.

After finishing his third cup, Pitch looked much less stressed, and some color had returned to his previously almost transparent face. As he set the cup down and stared at the fire, he spoke, "I've been thinking about what you said, Umbra," his voice was much clearer and had a sense of slyness to them, like they were supposed to.

"My Lord?" Umbra stood up straighter, awaiting the words of Pitch.

"You said that it took five immortal beings to defeat one of me," he continued. "And, therefore, that wasn't an equal fight. I was thinking… if I am to try again, I should bring a few friends along, don't you think?"

Umbra was mortified by Pitch's intent on trying to fight the Guardians once more. "Please do not think that I doubt your power, Master, but I do not think future plans to defeat the Guardians would be good for your health. You barely managed to come back to the Dark Side with your physical form. If something worse happens…"

Pitch held up his hand for silence, which Umbra responded to at once and shut her mouth.

"I did _not_ ask you about a future plan to fight the Guardians, Umbra," the Boogeyman said slowly. "I asked you to give me your opinion on having a few allies _if_ I decide to try again."

Umbra gulped and replied, "I beg that you accept my apologies, sir. I have been rude and disrespectful to your return." When Pitch stayed silent, waiting, the ninja continued, "My Lord, to have allies of your own would be extremely helpful if you are to fight another war. The four Guardians, they are all – "

"Five, now," Pitch interrupted. "They made that Jack Frost the Guardian of _Fun_."

Umbra took note of the loathsome way her master had muttered the word 'fun.' "Uh… as I was saying, the five Guardians are all allies. They fight on the same side and can carry out plans and strategies more successfully with their numbers. You need allies too, Master, to counter the _enemy's_."

The Boogeyman nodded slowly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "What do you think of the Big Bad Wolf? He would make a fine friend to have in warring time. And Rumpelstiltskin, that rascal, I haven't seen him in ages. Let's see…"

"Master, you can't be considering to strike at the Guardians again, can you?" Umbra yelped in disbelief. "At least not right after your defeat, sir. You need to rest and regain your power. Your wounds must be healed, or you will be the easiest target on the battlefield. And are you going to leave me here by myself again while you risk your life trying to get children to believe in you? You must at least allow me to come with you, my Lord. I shall protect you from whatever the Guardians may throw at us. I am your ninja; I have pledged my life and services to you, and I am supposed to aid and defend you; not stay home and watch the palace."

"Now, I never said I wasn't going to bring you, this time," Pitch said smoothly, shooting Umbra a satisfied smirk. "You didn't have to make up that speech about your loyalty, but I appreciate the thought."

The ninja tuned out everything else Pitch said after, _"I never said I wasn't going to bring you, this time."_ Umbra, being the most loyal servant of the Boogeyman, went utterly berserk at the thought of fighting a war alongside her master. Erasing whatever objection she had in mind about attacking the Guardians again, the ninja's eyes filled with tears of joy. "You are too kind, Master," she said whilst bowing humbly at Pitch's feet. "I will not disappoint you."

Pitch, seeing that he had successfully changed Umbra's mind, decided to quickly change the subject before the ninja could come to her senses about the situation. He yawned and stretched his aching shoulders.

Umbra perked up at this gesture. "Master, you are fatigued so you must rest now. Your injuries will heal quicker if you sleep more." When Pitch didn't object, the ninja silently picked up the tea cups and extinguished the flames in the fireplace with the wave of her hand, plunging the room into complete darkness.

"Bitter dreams," the ninja called to her master before shutting the door to the room.

* * *

It took only seven months for Pitch to heal from his wounds completely. With Umbra's excellent teas and assortments of painkilling herbs, the Boogeyman was as good as new by November. He even had the strength to celebrate Halloween, his favorite holiday. And in November, he looked like he was never injured to begin with.

It was during this time that Pitch gave Umbra a task. "I think you ought to pay a visit to Captain Hook and the Headless Horseman for me," he instructed his ninja. "Go to Rumpelstiltskin, the Big Bad Wolf, the Evil Queen, and the Rat King, as well. Tell them that I, Pitch Black, offer them an alliance against the Guardians. You have a way with words, Umbra, so it is up to you to convince them to join our side."

Umbra nodded confidently, "Leave it all to me, Master." And without hesitation, she disappeared into the shadow of Pitch's palace, heading for the ship of Captain Hook.

Hook was very easy to convince, in Umbra's opinion. He and his pirates just wanted to fight, so they would be very much obliged to serve anyone as long as there was plenty of violence involved.

The Headless Horseman was an entirely different story. The man didn't have a head; therefore he could not speak nor even nod and shake to show that he knew what Umbra was talking about. He didn't have ears either, so the ninja wasn't quite sure if the Horseman could hear her at all. After an agonizing day of attempting to communicate with him, Umbra simply gave up and moved on to the next being that was on her list.

Rumpelstiltskin was the most unpleasant little git Umbra had ever met. The man was short and small and very, very skinny. He resembled a poor kid with a face that looked like it belonged to his grandfather. When the girl explained her master's request, Rumpelstiltskin gave her a sly smile and quirked his eyebrows mischievously, "What's in it for me? Hmm?"

Umbra could not believe the elf's arrogance and disrespect toward Pitch. The girl savagely smacked Rumpelstiltskin across the face, shouting, "My master has no time for greedy little cockroaches like you. That's the deal, so take it or leave it!"

Needless to say, Rumpelstiltskin didn't take the offer.

Happily leaving the filthy home of the elf, Umbra went on to the house of the Big Bad Wolf who was much more hospitable than Hook and Rumpel put together. The Wolf invited the ninja into his little hut and they shared a very pleasing drink of minty tea together. And when he also agreed to serve Pitch, Umbra decided that she was going to enjoy having the Wolf around the Dark Side.

The Evil Queen was also surprisingly enjoyable to talk to. Although she was very full of herself, the Queen was still relatively kind, possibly because Umbra was not anywhere near pretty as she was. The Evil Queen _was_ very beautiful, in the ninja's opinion, and by telling her this, Umbra was able convince her to join the Dark Side with no trouble at all. The ninja made a mental note that flattery is the ultimate weakness of the Queen.

And lastly… the Rat King. Umbra was afraid that she would have to shrink into the size of a mouse to be able to have an audience with the King. Thankfully, it was the Rat that decided to grow into the proper size for a nice long conversation about the Boogeyman's ambition to be believed in. The Rat King and Pitch shared this common goal. Umbra sat and listened politely as the King ranted about how a noble Nutcracker had defeated him and his army of rats. At the end of his rant, the Rat confirmed that he pledges his allegiance to Pitch Black.

After almost a week of traveling to different countries and continents to request the help of the villains of legends, Umbra returned to the Dark Side. She had gotten four of the six candidates to accept her master's proposal.

The ninja reported back to Pitch on the night of November 15. Her master looked satisfied by the numbers and gave Umbra some rare praise before dismissing her.

Although no one could see through the silver that covered the bottom half of her face, Umbra the ninja girl was beaming as she left the Nightmare King's palace to resume her daily routine of patrolling the thorny forests and keeping her eyes and ears open for any sign of something that might disrupt the safety of Pitch.

She had just put together her master's new army while visiting Captain Hook and the Big Bad Wolf. There was nothing that could have made Umbra more satisfied than knowing that she had played a great part in bringing Pitch Black one step closer to his ultimate ambition.

* * *

**A/N: Heeeey~ So, this was my first fanfic on this website and I hope you like it so far. This chapter is sort of like a prologue because it sets up who Umbra is and how Pitch got healed up so quickly. It also explains what Pitch is doing to have a better chance of winning this round. I'll be posting more of this story when I get the chance. Thanks for reading :D**


	2. Spying on the Guardians

_~Chapter Two: Spying on the Guardians_

On the Bright Side of the world, Nicholas St. North knew nothing of the returning threat of Pitch Black. The jolly man hummed happily to himself as he finished polishing his snow globe with a soft, clean rag and set it on a nearby shelf. He took a step back to admire his work and gave a pleased nod to the snow globe before leaving the room.

Unseen by North, Umbra materialized from the shadows behind a large bookcase and pressed herself against the wall as a couple of elves strolled by, chatting happily to each other. One of the elves noticed the ninja despite her attempts to be hidden.

But still, they were only _elves_. It's not that they're actually smart.

Umbra smirked as she put her index finger to her lips, using the universal sign to be quiet. She then picked up a plate of sugar cookies that was sitting on one of the shelves in the room and innocently offered it to the elves. "Here you go," she whispered. "You never saw me, agreed?"

The elves stared at the cookies with temptation. Their tiny noses twitched at the wonderful smell of flour, sugar, butter, and corn syrup baked together. One of them tried to reach for the sweets, but Umbra teasingly lifted the plate out of their reach. "Promise?" she asked, picking up a large round cookie and waving it dangerously close to the elves' mouths. "You know you want it… Just keep this little meeting between the three of us, and all these cookies can be yours…"

At last, North's helpers couldn't contain their longing for the sugar. Both of the elves held out their hands to shake on it.

Umbra tried to keep a straight face as she shook both of the elves' hands to seal the deal. "Enjoy," the ninja set the cookie plate down on the ground so that the short little men could easily grab the dessert.

While the elves busily stuffed their faces, Umbra silently sneaked out of the room and into the halls of North's Workshop. _Just how easy is it to trick an elf?_ She smiled with triumph and amusement while ducking behind columns and bookcases as she stealthily explored the home of Father Christmas. _They will literally fall for just about anything…_

For a moment, Umbra was caught up in her own cleverness before she remembered why she was at North's Workshop in the first place. Pitch wanted her to spy on the Guardians and find out if there have been any changes to their ranks.

The ninja ducked behind a potted plant as a small swarm of humming birds passed by. It would be an utter disaster if she was discovered by them. Hummingbirds were much smarter than elves, and they wouldn't abandon their duty to their mistress for a plate of cold cookies. _Ah, so the Tooth Fairy is here. _Umbra realized. _That makes my job easier. I won't have to go to the Tooth Palace anymore._ Not making a sound, she continued on her mission and soon arrived at the main chamber of the Workshop without being spotted by anyone else.

In front of her was a large globe of the earth, covered in what looked like tiny specks of glitter and strange writing in a language that the ninja did not recognize. It slowly rotated on a bronze axis and, with its many glittering patches, showed all the children in the world who believed in at least one of the five Guardians.

And might Umbra note that there were a whole _lot_ of glowing lights on that globe. She walked around the sphere, inspecting it with much interest. _Not bad,_ she thought as she processed just how successful the Guardians were with their "bringing joy to children" mission statement. _Not bad at all. It's no wonder Master is jealous of them._

Suddenly, the sound a heavy door shutting echoed through Santa's house.

Umbra panicked slightly, frantically looking around while trying to locate where the noise had come from. There were loud footsteps now, and the ninja did the only logical, ninja-like thing to do. She swiftly climbed up a tall, golden pillar and latched onto the ceiling of the room just as the Easter Bunny waltzed in, nibbling on a large carrot.

The rabbit stopped right below where Umbra was hanging from the chandelier. His eyes were narrowed with suspicion whilst he looked around the room. "That's strange," he said to himself. "I'm bloody sure I sensed someone in here."

Umbra held her breath and mentally face-palmed. _What? Now the Easter Bunny is here, too?! This isn't going to be easy._ The ninja knew of rabbits' keen ears and the sixth scent that generally all animals had for identifying the presence of ghosts, danger, and in this case, ninjas too.

The Easter Bunny's tall ears twitched and flicked from one direction to another, anticipating the next sound that Umbra might make. His nose was also sniffing like a greyhound's. He appeared to have caught Umbra's scent and was slowly following the same path that the ninja had taken around the globe of the earth. "Hmm…" Bunnymund muttered, tapping his chin with the butt of his half eaten carrot. "Smells like… blackthorn… minty tea… and cookies… "

Pitch's ninja winced every time the Easter Bunny accurately named off something that she had been in contact with recently; rats, pirates, wolf, shadow, darkness –

Bunnymund gasped as he finally realized a pattern in these objects.

Umbra watched the rabbit take a few steps back, his eyes frantically flicking over every tiny detail of the room; every detail except the ceiling and dangling chandelier. "Who's there?" Bunnymund called with authority. Although he could not see anything, he was obviously aware that some creature of Darkness had been in the room. "Show yourself! I know you're here, you filthy servant of Pitch! Come forth and face the wrath of E. Aster Bunnymund!"

The ninja rolled her eyes at him. _Now, is that really what you're supposed to say when you want someone to reveal themselves to you? Well, it's not a very good method, is it?_

The Easter Bunny literally scanned every inch of the room with his laser sharp eyes except the ceiling. "Come out here! I'm warning, you – "

"Talking to yourself again, Bunny?"

Umbra and Bunnymund both turned to see a smirking teenaged boy with wispy silver hair, casually leaning against a wall near the entrance of the room. He was holding a strange shepherd's crook with cracks of frost creeping around the collar of his blue hoodie.

_No, no, no, no, no, no!_ Umbra wanted to bang her forehead against her chandelier. _Not another one! This assignment is going to be a catastrophe. Oh, what will Master say when he finds out that his personal ninja girl got busted by the Easter Bunny and some cocky teenaged boy?! He will never give me a mission again._ Knowing that with more people in the area, the more likely one of them would eventually look up and see Pitch's spy dangling dangerously from the branches of their pretty light source, Umbra braced herself for discovery.

But the Easter Bunny and his visitor did not discover her. They were too busy arguing with one another.

"Oi, I wasn't talking to myself,"Bunnymund growled defensively. "I'm not _that_ desperate, you know. Unlike you, Jack, I haven't been alone for three hundred years. I wouldn't be surprised if you actually resorted to talking to your staff."

The other Guardian, whom Umbra assumed was Jack Frost, didn't appear fazed at the Easter Bunny's words. "Oh, but talking to my staff is definitely more dignified than pretending that you're an intruder and shouting at yourself."

The rabbit sputtered, "For your information, there _is_ an intruder. A real one that's hiding in this room right now! I can smell him, mate, and his scent reminds me a whole lot of Pitch Black."

"You've got to be kidding me; we just got rid of Pitch months ago. There's no way he's back already," Jack was unconvinced. He walked over and stood beside the Easter Bunny, making an exaggerated display of looking for the intruder. "Nope, I don't see anyone. Your ears must be playing tricks on you, Bunny." Then he turned gracefully on his heels and started to leave.

_Yes, yes, yes, yes…_ Umbra urgently prayed that Jack Frost would hurry up and just go away before he sees her. "Jack, get back here!" Bunnymund ordered angrily. Umbra puffed her cheeks in annoyance as the Winter Spirit stopped, turned back around, and gave the rabbit a teasing smile.

"Ah, are you scared of a little scent, Bunny? Pitch probably left it when he tried to take over. I don't understand why you're making such a big fuss over this."

"I'm telling you, mate," Bunnymund said, grabbing Jack's sleeve, much to the other's dismay, and dragging him toward the rotating globe. "This scent is fresh. And it smells an awful lot like a female."

Umbra closed her eyes in frustration. _Damn the Bunny and his freakishly good senses. I hate him! Hate him, hate him, hate him!_

Jack frowned at the rabbit, "How do you know?"

"She smells like vanilla and slyness," Bunnymund replied casually. "Vanilla is definitely a girl. And the slyness… she's probably a ninja or something along those lines."

Jack looked like he wanted to laugh. "'Slyness'? What does that smell like?"

The Easter Bunny sighed as his moment of mystery was interrupted by the other Guardian. "Look, mate," he placed his paws on Jack's shoulders. "Just be careful, all right? There could be a spy watching us and keeping Pitch aware of what's happening here. If you see anything strange, a weird shadow, a patch of darkness in a brightly lit room, or anything that has to do with the Dark Side, you need to tell North."

Realizing how serious the other was acting, Jack could only nod hesitantly. "But North told us to not disturb him when Christmas is coming. I heard he's behind schedule and trying to catch up."

Umbra's eyes lit up at this. _Hmm… that's good to know. Thank you, Frost, you've just handed me a free piece of information to take back to my dear master. I would give you a cookie as well, but I'm afraid I gave them all to the elves._

"I ought to be going now," Bunnymund took one more suspicious gaze around the atrium before opening a rabbit hole in the floor and disappearing into it.

Once the mascot of Easter was gone, Jack was left alone.

Umbra watched him stroll around the globe, admiring the many patches of glitter that decorated its surface. While Jack's back was turned, the ninja silently dropped down from her hiding place and cautiously backed into the shadows where she felt much safer and concealed.

While she pondered what to do next, Umbra dropped her guard and was suddenly face to face with a single hummingbird that belonged to the Tooth Fairy. The ninja gasped and stared at the bird whilst the latter stared back at her.

The hummingbird was quirky looking and cocked its head to one side in confusion at the mysterious stranger dressed in black.

"Don't make a sound," Umbra ordered in a voice that was barely audible. "Be a good hummingbird and go play with your friends, okay? Go on…"

The bird was obviously a young and innocent little thing. It squeaked in agreement and fluttered off toward Jack Frost. It buzzed around his ear and landed on his shoulder.

"Hey, Baby Tooth," the Guardian greeted the bird. He sat down on the platform under the globe as the bird gave him a salute.

_What? No!_ Umbra realized her mistake immediately. She should have just kidnapped the bird and brought it back to Pitch as a gift, but no. She had foolishly decided to let the thing go, and now it's going to tell all its friends about the dark ninja hiding in the shadows.

If Baby Tooth was trying to communicate to Jack, it only came out in high pitched squeaks and squeals that Umbra didn't understand. The bird flittered around and gestured in the ninja's direction, chirping excitedly.

Umbra ducked into a dark corner as the hummingbird flew to her side and pointed at her with interest. Then it made more squeaking noises to indicate that there was something important in the corner.

"You got a friend over there?" Jack asked as he slid off of the platform he sat on and coming to investigate.

_Uh oh…_ Pitch's ninja squished herself against the wall in panic. In times like these, Umbra only knew one method to get out of the dire situation. She snatched Baby Tooth out of the air, knowing that it wouldn't be safe to leave the bird behind. Surely, it'll find someone who can understand it and tell them everything.

Umbra stuffed the bird into her cloak which, thankfully, silenced its alarmed squeals for help. And just as Jack Frost turned the corner to see what Baby Tooth had been so desperate to show him, Umbra had already sprinted into the shadow of a nearby room, heading back to the Dark Side with the hummingbird as her captive.

* * *

**A/N: Hmm... short chapter, isn't it? Oh, well, I'm not going to type more than I need to for this section of the story. I believe the next chapter would be where the real action starts, so fingers crossed that it'll turn out alright!**


	3. Antebellum

_~Chapter Three: Antebellum_

Umbra stood by Pitch's side with her hands behind her back in a stiff and authorized manner. She followed two steps behind her master whilst he strolled through the palace of the Dark Side, surveying the guests he was hosting. Captain Hook and his pirates looked very out of place as they ran around Pitch's Gothic styled mansion, still wearing their pirate apparel. The Evil Queen couldn't bear to part with her beloved magic mirror, so the Boogeyman allowed her to bring it along. The Big Bad Wolf was given all the pork he could eat, and the Rat King with his fellow rodents found plenty of tunnels in the mansion's walls to make a proper colony.

"Master," Umbra informed Pitch of what she had heard at the North Pole. "Nicholas St. North is falling behind schedule for the Christmas seasons. If we strike near the beginning of December, he will either have to abandon his post at the Workshop or continue his Christmas preparations while leaving the other Guardians to fight on their own. Either way, we have the advantage. If he fights, he will not have time for Christmas deliveries, which I'm sure, would force a large amount of children to stop believing. That's more victims for you, Master."

Pitch appeared very pleased at this prospect. "And if our good friend, North, doesn't fight and stays at his little Workshop…?"

"We will have fewer enemies to worry about," Umbra nodded to confirm her conclusion. She slowed to a stop as Pitch did too. "We await your instructions, Master. Where ever you need me, I will be there."

"Have I ever told you that you're my favorite, Umbra?" Pitch mused.

The ninja blinked in confusion. "But, master, I am you only ninja. That's not saying much, is it?"

"Oh, hush up and just take the compliment," the Boogeyman looked annoyed that his attempt to be pleasant didn't make a real effect.

Umbra quickly bowed her head and obeyed, "Yes, master, thank you for your kind words."

"That'll do," Pitch continued through his mansion in a rather brisk pace. And, of course, Umbra was right at his coattails. "I must also praise you, Umbra," he began. "for bringing back this lovely specimen…" He pulled out a tiny bird cage from the inside of his coat and admired the poor little hummingbird cowering within. "Aw… So we meet again, little one. I haven't seen you in a while, – what's your name again? – Baby Tooth, is it? Jack Frost gave you that name, I presume?"

Umbra watched silently as her master taunted the prisoner. The ninja had been greatly honored after bringing the little thing back from North's Workshop. Pitch had apparently met the Tooth Fairy's helper once before and was especially vengeful toward it for stabbing his hand with its beak in Antarctica.

Baby Tooth's once brilliant feathers were turning a dull shade of brown, probably from being kept in the darkness and away from light for so long. Its body looked frail from undernourishment, and its beady eyes were staring at her, pleading for help.

Umbra refused to look directly at the bird as she was starting to feel her will breaking just a bit at the sight of the pitiful creature. She made sure to keep a perfectly straight face as Pitch turned his attention back to her. He thrust the cage into the ninja's hands and said with an evil grin, "I entrust you with our little prisoner, Umbra. Keep the hummingbird alive, but don't spoil it. It'll be wonderful to watch the look on the Guardians' faces when they see their friend like this."

"Master," the ninja did not take the bird. "With the greatest respect, I do not think that I am of rank to watch over such an important hostage. I am merely a ninja and cannot promise that the bird will remain in captivity under my duty – "

Pitch silenced Umbra with a casual wave of his hand. "Don't be modest, my dear ninja. You _are_ of rank. For this upcoming battle, I would like you to be my second in command. I cannot trust Hook and his pirates enough to lead my Nightmares, you know. I've tamed them again after the incident in April. They should be... less rebellious." he chose his words carefully, remembering how his minions had turned on him before.

Umbra's mouth fell open at this and her bottom lip began trembling with emotion, "You are too kind, Master," she choked out, her voice constricted with excitement. "A ninja as your second? You are placing a large amount of expectations on me, sir."

Pitch's lips curled into a challenging smile, "Are you telling me that you refuse this offer? If so, I believe the Rat King would also make a fine choice – "

"No!" Umbra collapsed to the floor at her master's feet and bowing her head. "You have made a most acceptable choice, Master. I was simply a bit shocked from hearing it. I will gladly admit to your offer as a second. Please, instruct me on what I must do."

The Nightmare King handed Baby Tooth's cage to her, "First, watch the prisoner for me. The Guardians need to see that the bird is alive, but make it look tortured and tired. It'll add to the drama nicely." Pitch rubbed his hands together in malicious delight.

After a split second of hesitation, Umbra reached out and snatched up the cage containing the Tooth Fairy's helper. "How do you suggest I approach this, Master? How do I make a hummingbird look tortured and miserable?"

"That is for you to decide. You can do whatever you feel like, Umbra, have some fun, if you want. Now, I best be off to check on the Evil Queen. You are dismissed."

"Master, wait!" Umbra had tucked Baby Tooth into the darkness of her cloak. "How long until we strike the Guardians? Please give me a rough estimation, sir, so that I can… prepare."

Pitch grinned in a wicked way. "Ah, I'm glad you asked. I plan to launch an attack on the Warren of the Easter Bunny first. It should happen in… say, two days. Then we'll go to Tooth Palace or the Clouds, I haven't decided yet," for a second, Umbra imagined Pitch as a little kid, undecided about which ice cream flavor he wanted to buy. "We shall save old North's Workshop for last. I think you understand my logic, Umbra."

Umbra nodded, "Thank you, sir, for sharing this with me. I will see to preparations straight away."

"Good…" Then, Pitch walked into the shadow of a large wardrobe in the mansion and disappeared.

The ninja breathed a sigh of relief after he was gone. "Okay… only two days of taking care of the hummingbird. I can do this… I think…" She murmured to herself and slowly withdrew Baby Tooth's cage from the shadows inside her cloak. She stared at the bird and the bird stared back. It was like North's Workshop all over again.

"Don't look at me like that!" Umbra snapped at it with mild hostility. "He's my master; I must do what he says. I owe him my life and this is want I have decided to do in order to repay him. Nothing you do is going to change my loyalties, I hope you know."

Baby Tooth continued to stare and occasionally made pitiful squeaks of misery.

"Oh, go suck a flower or something," the ninja growled and shoved the cage back under her cloak. With a last look around the corridor, she began walking briskly through the mansion with her head held high.

* * *

Jack Frost couldn't put his finger on it. Baby Tooth had been missing for three days, now. He hadn't told anyone about it yet, hoping that the hummingbird would show up sooner or later, but it never did. It was during this time that Jack began reconsidering Bunny's strong belief that a trespasser had been stalking North's Workshop. Baby Tooth had vanished on the same day that Bunny went berserk about Pitch returning. What if Bunny was right? What if someone _was_ spying on them for the Boogeyman?

And if that spy kidnapped Baby Tooth… Jack shook his head, unable to even _think_ about how scared the hummingbird must be. He couldn't bear to imagine Baby Tooth trapped in a cage, stuffed into a dark closet somewhere in Pitch's realm.

It would all be his fault, Jack realized in horror. He didn't believe Bunny and, therefore, he didn't have the interest to put forth any real effort in looking for the Nightmare King's infiltrator. For all Jack knew, the ninja was probably hiding in plain sight! And now, Baby Tooth had disappeared without a trace, most likely taken by the Dark spy.

Jack knew that he should really say something to Tooth, but he didn't have the heart to break the news to her that one of her helpers may be gone for good. That is… until the third day, when the Tooth Fairy actually asked him herself.

"Uh…" Jack pretended to think, trying to stall.

"Oh please, Jack," the beautiful fairy pleaded as she clasped her hands together in a beggar's pose. She was hovering only a mere nine inches off the ground which showed that she was very depressed. "Please tell me you've seen Baby Tooth somewhere today. I've been looking for so long and I can't seem find any sign of her. I know she comes to you a lot; have you seen her at all? Oh, I'm so worried…" Tooth looked like she was about to break down and cry, and Jack didn't want that.

It took only two seconds for the boy to decide what to tell her, "I'm sorry, Tooth. I haven't seen her, either." He figured that was safer than bluntly shoving the truth at the fairy while she was in this state despair.

"Oh, I understand…" Tooth visibly sank down to hover even closer to the floor; only four inches now. "Thanks anyway, Jack. I'd better keep looking." Without another word to him, she swiftly flew off toward the west side of the Workshop, calling out Baby Tooth's name as she went.

Jack hoped that he made the right choice of keeping his suspicions to himself. But he still had to tell _someone_, even if it's not Tooth. The Winter Spirit thought about going to North, but immediately changed his mind. Santa was busy with the Christmas plans and wouldn't be happy if he was interrupted.

There was no way Jack was going to Bunny, either. That would include having to admit that the Aussie was right about the spy, and the Guardian of Fun had been a bastard for not taking him seriously. Jack still had his pride to think of.

With three of the other four Guardians deleted from the boy's list of possible consultants, there was only Sandy the Sandman remaining. Sandy was nice, but he never talked which made it kind of hard to communicate anything between the two of them. After months of knowing the little man, Jack still hadn't quite figured out how to read Sandy's dreamsand pictures.

"Oi! Mate!" came a familiar Australian accented voice.

Jack exhaled slowly in annoyance as he turned to face the quickly approaching Bunnymund. "What?"

"Tooth just told me about…"

"Yeah, I know," Jack snapped moodily. "She's looking for Baby Tooth."

Bunnymund stood up straighter as if an important thought occurred to him. "I know you're going to think that I'm going mad, but I think Pitch's ninja might have taken Baby Tooth away. You still don't believe me, I understand that – "

Jack grimaced, "No."

The Easter Bunny stopped abruptly, his large ears turning in the other Guardian's direction. "What did you just say?"

"You were right," the Winter Spirit murmured quietly, hoping that the other wouldn't hear him. "The other day, Baby Tooth was trying to show me something in that corner." He motioned to an area of the room that was dark and far away from the windows where natural light streamed in. "I went to look but when I got there, I didn't see anything special. And Baby Tooth was gone. She didn't leave anything behind, not even a feather."

"I knew it!" the rabbit exclaimed. "I knew there was some sort of Dark vermin in here!"

"Yeah, whatever. Just don't rub it in," Jack rolled his eyes.

"Have you told this to Tooth?" Bunny asked. His voice lowered so that passerby elves and yetis wouldn't hear their exchange of words.

"I didn't want to scare her."

"This isn't good…" Bunnymund began pacing the room, tapping the corner of his mouth with the end of his boomerang. "We've got to tell someone and quick! Let's go to North."

"Don't you think I already know that?" Jack appeared agitated. "And isn't there a rule in the Guardian's Book of Guidelines that says, 'North is not to be disturbed for any reason whatsoever during the Christmas season'?"

"Oh screw those bloody Guidelines!" Bunny was already starting down the corridor, heading toward North's main chamber.

The other had to sprint to keep up. With such large feet, each of Bunny's footsteps was worth three or four of Jack's. "Wait," the Winter Spirit intervened. "What do you mean, 'screw those bloody Guidelines'? It took me _five months_ to read and memorize all those rules! Are you telling me they don't matter?!"

"Not really, mate," the rabbit replied casually. "We just make young Guardians memorize them because it requires a whole lot of patience. It really teaches discipline, you know, reading and recalling everything in that massive book. I'm downright happy that _I_ didn't have to do that."

"_What?!_" This was the first time Jack had ever been informed of the real purpose of the Guardian's Book of Guidelines. "But North told me that all the Guardians had to read that thing. He said that he'll have to test me on all the procedures after I study them!"

"And has North done that yet?"

"Uh… no, but – "

"Then it's not real," Bunny confirmed. "I reckon North doesn't know the Guidelines any better than I do. But, we all get the general idea of what to do and what not to do as a Guardian. There's no need to read them out of a book. Most of the stuff in there is just common sense."

Jack was obvious pissed off about this. "Do you have any idea how much time I wasted on that stupid book? I literally memorized every word because I thought that I'd be kicked off the team if I didn't! At least that's what North told me."

"Yeah, well, you'll learn that North is the most dishonest of us all," Bunny chuckled as they arrived at said person's door. The Aussie raised a large front paw up to knock on the polished wood. But just before his knuckled made contact, his ears perked up again, hearing something peculiar.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Jack asked, his fingers tensing up around his staff. After Baby Tooth's possible abduction by Pitch's ninja, Jack wasn't going to doubt the rabbit's senses again.

Bunny dropped to the floor, pressing his ears against the rug. His expression was one of terror and disbelief. "No… oh no… please not – "

"What's going – "but before Jack could finish his sentence, Bunny had summoned rabbit hole in front of them and disappeared into it. "O-okay…" muttered the confused boy. "Right, just leave me here by myself. You could have at least told me where you were going." He gazed down the dark pit that was in the ground beside his bare feet.

The rabbit hole was still open, and Jack suddenly felt the urge to jump in after Bunny and see what was happening. The mascot of Easter had looked really shaken by whatever he heard underground and something told the youngest Guardian that Bunny would need help.

Without looking back, Jack dived into the dark void just before it closed.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I lied. This is not where the action begins, that will be next chapter. I named this chapter "Antebellum" because that means "before the war" which is basically what this section is about. Tensions are rising a little. Something is happening with Bunny. And Umbra is put in charge of keeping Baby Tooth. Anyways, hope you enjoyed and a review would be much appreciated, even if you don't favorite or follow, just a plain review would make me happy. C'mon, guys, we all know how annoying it is when you see, like, 800 views for your story but only one or two reviews. **

**Also, thanks to my first reviewer! DaRk-SnOw-FlOwEr24, thank you so much for the kind words! I hope you liked this! I wish I could give you a prize, but this** **_is_ the internet, so I can't hand out free cookies; I'm so sorry ^_^;**


	4. The Warren

_~Chapter Four: The Warren_

Umbra had never been to the Easter Bunny's Warren before. She imagined that it would be sunny and colorful with flowers growing everywhere. She anticipated thousands of plain, white eggs running around, just waiting to be painted next year. But most of all, she expected the Easter Bunny to actually be there.

In the morning, Pitch and Umbra teleported their allies via shadow to the place that used to be the Boogeyman's lair before he was defeated by the Guardians. The cavern was quiet and messy since its owner abandoned it months ago. Their footsteps echoed from one wall to another as they walked.

Mortified by the state of the place that was once her master's shining headquarters, Umbra moved quickly so that she wouldn't be forced to gaze upon the ruins of Pitch's failed attempt to take down the Guardians before. She stayed ahead of the master to protect him if, for some reason, the enemy was waiting to ambush them in the cave. The ninja knew that she wasn't in familiar territory anymore.

When she and the rest of Pitch's army teleported away from the Dark Side, she knew that the Guardians now had every right to attack them freely for trespassing into their side of the world. She was truly a bit paranoid that the Tooth Fairy and a horde of mutant hummingbirds might show up and try to chase Pitch back into the Dark Side.

Umbra was snapped out of her thoughts when Pitch opened a dark tunnel on the side of a nearby wall. "This is the way to the Easter Bunny's realm," he announced maliciously. "When we get there, take whatever you want and we shall see how long it takes for the rabbit to realize that his precious Warren is under attack. Questions?"

One of Hook's pirates' hands shot in the air, eagerly.

"Yes, the little man wearing the skull bandana," Pitch called on him, acting like a teacher addressing a student.

"What do we do when the Bunny gets there?"

"Is it not obvious, Mr. Smee?" Pitch asked the pirate. "You make _my _entrance look more dramatic by terrorizing those little Easter Eggs in Warren. Yes, I think that would make a very nice background for my extraordinary comeback, don't you?"

"Yes, Master," Umbra quickly responded before anyone else could ruin Pitch's ambitious vision with a dull, idiotic answer. "Please, lead the way, my Lord."

Pitch gave a nod of approval before turning and swiftly striding into the tunnel with his ninja and army right at his heels.

The tunnel was narrow, which forced them all to walk one behind the other, and had a ceiling that was just high enough so that Pitch could easily walk through. There were occasional roots dangling from overhead which seemed to get more frequent the further they walked. Umbra could hear the Big Bad Wolf grunting curses in the rear end of the line, because the tunnel wasn't tall enough for him to stand up straight.

It was dark in the passageway, and Umbra was thankful for that. She wasn't used to being under bright light, which she would have to endure once she gets to the Warren. The home of the Easter Bunny should be very bright, the ninja thought. It would be much brighter than the Workshop, of course, since it was lit by sunlight. Umbra wandered if her eyes would work properly once she gets there. Having lived practically her whole life on the Dark Side of the world, she hadn't seen true rays of the sun in a long, long time.

After a twenty minute walk through the tunnel (it must have been torture for the Big Bad Wolf), Umbra saw a bright opening ahead. Pitch seemed to be unbothered by this blinding gateway, so the ninja did her best to appear normal as well. She pulled her black hood over her eyes and tried to slowly and steadily allow the light enter her eyes, instead of letting it all come in at once.

Pupils gradually shrinking smaller, Umbra stepped out of the earth and found a charming little valley stretch out before her. It was dotted with large, stone statues of what looked like giant eggs, and stream of rainbow-colored dye flowed lazily in the form of a river around the hills and nooks of the peaceful landscape. On the side of a massive mountain were six passageways, each labeled by the by the silhouette of a certain continent. And the Warren's inhabitants were thousands of plain, white eggs that sprouted short, stubby feet and ran around the grove like children playing.

The ninja heard gasps of astonishment behind her as the others took in this magnificent beauty that was the Easter Bunny's home. Knowing that Pitch wouldn't be happy if his allies found the warzone to be attractive, Umbra suppress her own noises of amazement and quickly sprinted off to explore the Warren.

Pitch tapped his fingers together in an evil manner as the rest of his 'friends' spread out across the land to take whatever they wanted and destroy what they didn't.

Umbra had gone to look at the river of dye. She unsheathed one of her knives and dipped the end of the blade into the swirling colors of the creek to see what would happen. When she took it back out, the ninja found that her weapon, even though it was made of silver, had been permanently dyed to a funky blue-purple hue on the tip of the cutting edge. She tried to wipe the dye off on the grass, but it had dried instantly after being taken out of the river.

The ninja cursed as she realized that her beloved dual kunai knives weren't going to be identical anymore. One would have a patch of swirling indigo at its tip and the other would not. _How embarrassing… _she thought as she imagined what her master would say when he saw this.

At that moment, a group of Hook's disorganized men stumbled to the river and began shoving each other into the dyes, painting their clothes orange and neon green for eternity. A small group of rats also came by and was accidentally pushed in by the horse playing pirates. They were dyed a very distracting yellow and bright magenta.

Umbra watched them, her right eye twitching a little in bewilderment at her allies' crude behavior. And with that, she realized that her tiny mistake with her knife had been _nothing_ compared to what the pirates and rats were doing. Erasing all worry of being embarrassed for dying her weapon, Umbra hurried away from the river before one of the others 'accidentally' shoves her in, as well.

As she strolled around the valley, looking at what others were doing; the ninja found the Big Bad Wolf savagely crushing eggs under his large feet. The Evil Queen was picking flowers for herself, slowly wiping away the once colorful land and replacing it with a trail of dead grass. The Rat King and his few disciplined brethren greedily ate the many fruits and berries that grew nearby. Hook… he was just screwing around, trying to cut open a stone statue with his pirate sword to no avail.

Pitch waited for the Easter Bunny to come. He stood on top of the largest egg statue, reciting his prepared speech delightedly whilst he paced the top of the egg.

Umbra wandered when the Easter Bunny would show up to witness Pitch's spectacular retaliation after months of healing and recruiting on the Dark Side. When Bunnymund finally arrived, which was later than the ninja had calculated, he was utterly horrified by what Pitch's forces had done to his beloved Warren.

* * *

After visiting the Warren a couple of times before, Jack had learned to not keep his legs straight when nearing the bottom of the rabbit hole as that would cause his knees to pop painfully. But this time, the Winter Spirit forgot to bend his knees since he was too busy thinking about what had gotten into Bunny.

There was a loud snap as his left knee popped when the rabbit hole violently dumped him into the Warren. "Ouch! Ow…" the Winter Spirit cursed and stumbled to his feet with great agony, using his staff for support. The first thing he heard was a familiar, cold voice call out, "It's so good to see you again, Bunny! I hope you missed me."

Jack's head shot up to see Pitch Black, perfectly healed, looming over Bunnymund while standing on one of the egg statues. His shadow was tall and easily covered both of the Guardians.

"Ah," Pitch seemed to have noticed Jack standing there, as well. "Jack Frost tagged along, too. Took a rough tumbled down the rabbit hole, I'm guessing? It looks like I'll have to start my speech all over again, just for you." He cleared his throat.

From what Jack could tell, Pitch was completely defenseless. He was not surrounded by an army of Nightmares or a protective wall of black dreamsand. Standing not even thirty feet away from them, the Boogeyman was making himself a very easy target if Bunny decided to let loose an egg bomb or something; and that was exactly what the rabbit did after Pitch tried to repeat his 'speech.'

In the blink of an eye, Bunnymund had snatched a bomb from the front of his single-strapped holster and chucked it at the vulnerable Nightmare King. Jack wanted to aim his staff at Pitch but found that he couldn't stand up straight without leaning on it.

Pitch simply stood calmly as the explosive egg was flung his way with incredible accuracy. Twenty feet… ten feet…

Just as quickly as Bunnymund had thrown the egg, a flash of silver flew out from behind Pitch and intercepted the bomb in midair, causing it to explode before it got near its target.

Both Bunny and Jack stared as the silver object, a pair of knives with thirteen inch-long blades, made a U-turn and spun back to Pitch like a very pretty boomerang. Pitch was looking quite conceited about the shocked expression on the Guardians' faces, to say the least. "Nice try, Bunny," he said smugly. "But I won't be assaulted so easily."

Jack hopped on one leg and used his staff to shoot a column of ice at Pitch.

Again, the silver knives protected the Boogeyman, cutting off the attack's path and causing the Guardian's magical ice beam to fizz out. It was like an invisible person was standing behind Pitch, throwing the knives for him.

"What the…?" Jack glanced at Bunny, and saw that the other was just as confused as he was. While Pitch laughed and cackled gleefully, the boy noticed that rabbit's nose had started to twitch uncontrollably. At first, Jack thought that Bunnymund was just really mad about the state of his Warren, but it wasn't that.

"Vanilla… rats…" the rabbit murmured, just loud enough for the other Guardian to hear. "Slyness… pirates and minty tea… blackthorn… It's the spy, mate," he told Jack. "The spy is protecting Pitch; I can smell it."

This time, Jack believed him. The boy narrowed his eyes and looked back at the Boogeyman.

To the Guardians' anticipation, a dark human figure stepped out from behind Pitch. The ninja's face was so concealed that Jack couldn't even tell if it was a girl or a boy, at first. The only thing that confirmed the ninja to be female was her feminine voice, "None shall harm my master," she announced, glaring at the two Guardians with pure loathe, as if they'd just pushed down her favorite grandmother or something.

She wore an opaque silver veil so that her nose, mouth, and chin were hidden and a black cloak with the hood over her head to shroud whatever style or color her hair might be. Her dark hued shorts left her long legs as the only real part of her that wasn't strictly hidden beneath fabric. And the knives that had saved Pitch _twice_ were snuggly tucked into sheaths at her knees. Overall, Jack could say anything about her, besides that she's a girl and she's evil for working for Pitch.

The Boogeyman wiped tears from his eyes from laughing so delightedly. "Such mortified, perplexed, and utterly scandalized looks on your faces," he cooed. "Your remorse brings such joys to me… No matter, where are the others? North and Sandy? I've arranged a little something just for the Tooth Fairy."

Jack stiffened. _Baby Tooth…_ "Where is she? What did you do to her?"

Pitch pretended to be in deep thought. "Ah, you see, I was going to wait until the others get here to show what my ninja has done to your precious Baby Tooth, but I'll be nice for once," he turned to Umbra who was standing rigidly beside him. "If you will…"

The ninja swallowed audibly before withdrawing a tiny cage from her cloak and holding it out to display to the Guardians. Her face was expressionless, but Jack noticed a glimmer of pity in her eyes as she opened the cage and dumped its contents out into Pitch's outstretched hand.

For a brief moment, Jack saw Baby Tooth's body lying limply in the Boogeyman's palm and thought that the poor hummingbird had died. But the bird twitched slightly and, with much effort, got to her feet. She gave the two Guardians a warning look, telling them to run and hide.

Neither Jack nor Bunnymund saw much difference in Baby Tooth's appearance, except that her feathers were not as bright as they used to be. The Winter Spirit couldn't understand why the bird hadn't simply flown out of Pitch's hand yet. The Boogeyman was giving her a perfect opportunity to escape.

"Can't fly now, can you?" Pitch teased Baby Tooth, threatening to drop the helpless creature. He gave the Guardians a sly smirk. "Have you figured it out yet, Jack? You want this little bird to fly away and flee as far as its little wings can take it. Well, I'm afraid that Baby Tooth can't do that anymore."

"Pitch…" Jack didn't like the way the man was dancing around the subject and cleverly avoiding explaining what exactly happened to Baby Tooth's wings. "Stop with the mind games. We're not afraid of you."

"Yes, but you are afraid for your hummingbird," Pitch countered, terrorizing the flightless Baby Tooth by chasing her around his palm with a finger. "Allow me to clarify that little Baby Tooth's wings have been clipped." Seeing the blank, clueless looks on the Guardians' faces, the Boogeyman chuckled. "It's a little trick I got from the humans. You see, some people own birds as pets and to keep their dear pet from running away, humans clip the birds' wings."

Jack still didn't know how 'clipping a bird's wings' worked, but it sounded painful.

"My ninja snipped off the tip of poor Baby Tooth's wings," Pitch continued, his voice dripping with malice. "I'll tell you what, you can have them back."

Umbra reached into a pocket on the inside of her cloak and extracted a handful of beautiful, colorful feathers that used to help the hummingbird fly. She let them drop to the ground below the egg statue, and the wind swept them to Jack's feet.

The boy's hands were trembling as he picked up the feathers for examination. He could tell that they were real because they smelled like nectar, what every Tooth Fairy smelled like.

"Now, if you don't mind," Pitch said calmly, placing Baby Tooth back into the cage. "I will be taking over your Warren, Bunny. We can fight, or you may kindly hand it over without resistance. I must say, I prefer the latter; it's less of a fuss."

Bunny scoffed and pulled out his boomerangs. "There is no bloody way I'm going to simply _give_ you my Warren. Jack and I'll send ya back to the hellhole you belong in!" he ignored Jack's bewildered expression. "You and what army, Pitch? All you have is your ninja."

Pitch smiled and wagged his index finger at the rabbit. "But that's where you're wrong, my friend."

As if on cue, Jack witnessed the strangest army he had ever seen approach from all around. There was a wolf that was as tall and buff as the Easter Bunny and a beautiful queen wearing a gown that was not proper garment for war. Then there was a horde of pirates, looking like they took a swim in the river of dye, led by a captain who was missing a hand. And lastly, there was a cavalry of rats riding on other rats with tiny swords of bones drawn.

Despite himself, the Spirit of Winter wanted to laugh at this odd arrangement of troops. But his moment of amusement was quickly kicked down the gutter as he realized that he and Bunny were surrounded by the enemy. It was like the night Sandy got overpowered by the Nightmares.

"Not so brave now, are we, Bunny?" Pitch asked in a soft voice. "It's a pity, really, I gave you the chance to surrender the Warren to me, but you refused. This is your penal – "

Umbra had tugged on her master's sleeve, causing him to cut off what he was planning to say. Pitch looked puzzled and slightly annoyed that he was interrupted, but he bent down so that the ninja could speak to him in private.

Jack couldn't hear what they were saying, but he hoped that it would take a while; long enough for him to think of some sort of a plan to get out of this mess and possibly save Baby Tooth, as well.

The ninja looked like she was reasoning with the Boogeyman, and they were locked in debate for a good five minutes before coming to a conclusion. Umbra breathed a sigh of relief when Pitch announced, "Since I am in a good mood today, I will grant you a third option. Let us have a trade, Bunny. Your friend, the Tooth Fairy, is missing her Baby Tooth… And I want your Warren. I think you know where I'm going with this…"

Bunnymund indeed knew where this deal was going. His first reaction would be, "NO! I will not trade my Warren for a hummingbird!" but he restrained himself from saying that out loud. He knew that he was being very selfish, reluctant to exchange his house for a living being.

Jack was looking at him with worry. The Winter Spirit had been tricked by Pitch before with the old, "Give me your treasure and I'll give you Baby Tooth," lie, and that hadn't been a fair deal. He shook his head at Bunny, "Don't do it. We don't know if he'll keep his word."

"Tick, tock…" Pitch pointed at his nonexistent wristwatch. "Make a decision quickly or I'll go with the default. I assure you that this time; I am sincere with my offer." He motioned for Umbra to take Baby Tooth's cage to the Guardians. The ninja silently slid off the egg statue she stood on and approached Jack and Bunny.

She could feel the air get colder as she neared the bringer of winter. She dangled the cage in front of them, letting them get a good view of the frail, puny prisoner inside.

"I just put a curse on the bird," Pitch explained. "As long as Baby Tooth is in your possession, your Warren is in mine. Whenever you feel that the Warren is more important than the well-being of the bird, Bunny, you may peacefully bring it back to me and I shall return your home. But that is your own choice."

Jack was so tempted to snatch the cage out of the ninja's hand, but he knew that it was the Easter Bunny's test of will. The Spirit of Winter shouldn't interfere.

Bunnymund personally favored his Warren over Baby Tooth, but he felt horrible thinking like that. Jack would want him to choose the bird, obviously. And Tooth would want her helper back, Bunny thought as he remembered how desperately she had been searching. Frankly, all of the other Guardians would want to save Baby Tooth, but they weren't thinking about the situation from the Easter Bunny's point of view.

The Warren was his home, his own little place of paradise in the world. How will the Easter eggs be painted next year if the rabbit didn't own the Warren? By giving it to Pitch, Bunny was also giving him full control over the holiday of Easter. Bunnymund's Warren is like North's Workshop or Tooth's Palace or Jack's staff.

_Jack's staff…_ Bunny remembered how he had felt when Jack told the Guardians about how he tried to save Baby Tooth by giving up his staff. Jack had been selfless enough to hand over his greatest treasure for the safety of a mere hummingbird. Bunny had to do that too. He sighed in defeat and hastily grabbed the cage from Umbra.

Nothing significant happened. Bunny didn't feel like he got punched in the gut, like he had expected. He had also anticipated thunder booming and lightning crashing over the land, but that didn't happen either.

"Umbra," Pitch said, inspecting his nails. "Get the intruder out of _my_ Warren."

Before Bunny and Jack could react, the ninja slammed them into Pitch's shadow. They both felt a swell of nausea in their stomachs as they sank into the darkness.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I must say, I had a little bit of trouble with this chapter. I was afraid that I might have made the canon characters too OOC. What do you think? Are the existing characters acting out of character? Is so, tell me so I can correct it as I write more. I felt like I cut some corners with this installment, so sorry if it was a bit rusty ^_^;**

**And, as always, reviews are welcome! **


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